There was a time when OnePlus was considered to be a giant killer, offering power and performance at a very reasonable price that could compete directly with high-end phones. We have bad news for you if you expect the OnePlus 11 5G to follow this flagship killer formula. The brand announced a few generations ago that this model is unsustainable in today’s market.
But the OnePlus 11 5G’s signature brand personality, lacking in its predecessor, is back in full force in the OnePlus 11 series reference model.
OnePlus’s new smartphone comes in at just under the 1,000 dollar mark, leaving room for a hypothetical OnePlus 11 Pro or OnePlus 11T to be released sometime in 2023, but with no guarantee of reaching the Western market, as happened last year with the OnePlus 10 Pro.
OnePlus 11 5G review
- Affordable price
- Powerful chip inside
- Camera takes great photos
- One of the fastest and smoothest phones
- Incredibly fast charging
- Great feel
- Substandard video recording quality
- Display not as bright as others
- OxygenOS makes some strange changes to Android behavior
- Does not support wireless charging
| Features | OnePlus 11 5G |
|---|---|
| OnePlus 11 5G Screen | 6.7-inch LTPO 3.0 Super Fluid AMOLED 3,216 x 1,440 pixel resolution. 20.1:9 aspect ratio Density of 525 dpi 120 Hz refresh rate Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Dolby Vision |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Adreno 740 |
| RAM and storage | 8 GB and 16 GB LPDDR5 128 GB UFS 3.1 and 256 GB UFS 4.0 Not expandable with microSD |
| Main cameras | Main: 50 Mpx f/1.8 Ultra wide angle: 48 Mpx f/2.2 Telephoto: 32 Mpx f/2.0 |
| Front Camera | 16 Mpx f/2.45 |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh 100 W SuperVOOC fast charge 100W charger included |
| Operating system | OxigenOS 13 Android 13 |
| Connectivity | 5G WiFi 7 (802.11 be) Bluetooth 5.3 NFC Dual band GPS, Glonass, A-GPS and Galileo |
| Dimensions and weight | 163.1 mm x 74.1 mm x 8.53 mm 205 grams |
| Extras | Alert Slider IP68 |
| Price |
Design
We start this review by talking about the design of this OnePlus 11 5G smartphone which maintains a certain resemblance to the style of the OnePlus 10 Pro which we also reviewed here, but completely changes the shape of the camera module betting on the circumference.
The design language is familiar to us through features such as the camera module that extends to the side and is integrated into a curved bezel, as the OnePlus 9 family did.
On the back, the smooth black color with a matte finish is abandoned in favor of a glass back with a coarse structure that keeps fingerprints away, but without improving the grip of a smartphone that still feels rather smooth in the hand.
In terms of comfort, the grip is very comfortable thanks to the double curvature of the back and front, which minimizes the thickness of the smartphone at the edges, aided by soft corners that are made so that the OnePlus 11 5G fits easily in the palm of the hand.
In spite of the 205 grams that it weighs, it does not feel like a brick in the hand, which allows you to use it without any problems, but the feeling of instability when used with one hand has made me use it with both hands.
Although the shape is different, the distribution of the camera module is the same, revealing the three cameras and the LED flash.
It only stands out by a few millimetres, but this is more than enough to make the phone wobble when used on a table and makes it necessary to be very careful when placing it on a table to avoid hitting the cameras.
The buttons are rather narrow due to the curved edge, but they have a firm and quality feel. They are located at a comfortable height to use them without making strange gestures with your hand.
They are arranged with the usual OnePlus layout, with the volume button on the left and the power button and the Alert Slider switch, which allows you to quickly switch between sound, vibration and silent modes, on the right.
On the lower side, you will find the stereo speaker, the dual SIM card slot with 5G connectivity, and the USB C port with USB 2.0 standard.
This smartphone is already ready for the most advanced WiFi connectivity, as one of the main new features enabled by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 modem is support for WiFi 7, the new WiFi standard being prepared for the coming years. It also has Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC.
Display
The flagship displays of OnePlus have offered good image quality, and the OnePlus 11 5G display is at the level of any high-end mobile phone, but it remains a step behind the high-end premium panels of Samsung E4, instead of the E6, which reach the higher ranges. This results in a lower brightness.
The screen is a 6.7″ Super Fluid AMOLED display with a 2K QHD+ resolution of 3,216 x 1,440 pixels, with a pixel density of 525dpi for a very sharp picture.
From the Settings menu, OxygenOS integrates four color modes for this display: Vivid, Natural, and a Pro mode that lets you change the color space and adjust the color temperature.
It is equipped with an ambient light sensor, so if you prefer, you can activate it and let the sensor adjust the brightness and temperature of the screen depending on the light conditions. The screen brightness adjustment was quick and successful, not so much the temperature, which left the screen a bit warm for our taste.
The new display uses LTPO 3.0 technology, which not only allows you to enjoy a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, but can also lower the frequency by up to 1 Hz on the Always-On display, offering greater visual comfort.
Despite the fact that the screen supports a 2K resolution, it will be necessary to go to Settings to activate this option, since in origin it arrives with a Full HD+ resolution. Within this setting, you can activate an automatic mode that leaves it up to the phone to always use the most appropriate resolution depending on the type of content.
We measured a maximum average brightness of 985 nits, which we found to be very good for displaying HDR and Dolby Vision content. It is not the brightest phone compared to the Samsung Galaxy S23 or the iPhone 14, but it remains in the middle of the range.
During the two weeks that we have been using the OnePlus 11 5G as our primary mobile phone, we have been able to use it without any problems in all lighting conditions. It behaves well when switching from indoor to outdoor use, although it does not activate the maximum brightness under the sun, nor the minimum when activating the screen in the dark.
Overall, it was a very cinematic experience watching videos, series and movies on the display, especially when you activate some of the video color enhancers and HDR mode enhancements.
The display is precisely integrated into the smartphone’s chassis, but the curve is a bit more pronounced than we’d like and leaves a slight shadow along the sides. Despite this, it presents no major visual issues or ghosting touches from the edge, leaving very tight bezels around the perimeter of the screen in return.
In terms of sound, we find a qualitative leap compared to the OnePlus 10T and the 2022 OnePlus 10 Pro. The two speakers offer a spectacular performanceboth in power and sound quality.
It is true that we cannot ask you for deep but it shows discreetly. We do not recommend exceeding 85% of its volume because at that point it begins to distort, although even at this point it maintains the type in the middle frequencies.
Hardware
If we talk about performance we already move to big words, although in reality in raw strength per core the expected 20% increase over the previous generation is appreciated. The usual between successive generations of processors.
Under the hood we find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that brings significant improvements in areas related to artificial intelligence processes such as photo processing, battery management, sound, etc.
| OnePlus 11 5G | OnePlus 10T 5G | Motorola Edge 30 Ultra | Xiaomi 12T Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | 16 GB | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 | 8 GB | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 | 12 GB | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1| 12 GB |
| Geekbench 5 Single | 1,499 points | 1,316 points | 1,335 points | 1,289 points |
| Geekbench 5 Multi | 4,951 points | 3,848 points | 4,369 points | 4,243 points |
| 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme | 3,659 points | 21.90 fps | N.D. | 2,800 points 16.80 fps (Wild Life Extreme) | N.D |
| AnTuTu | 1,119,626 points | 984,501 points | 1,032,856 points | 1,079,198 points |
| PC Mark | 12,634 points | 14,813 points | 15,945 points | 15,483 points |
This is clearly reflected in the results of the performance tests and is particularly noticeable in everyday tasks, something in which the 16 GB of RAM in the OnePlus 11 5G we are testing has a lot to say.
Unsurprisingly, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 can handle whatever you throw at it without complaint and excels in demanding games such as Genshin Impact, allowing itself the luxury of raising the graphics quality to High without significantly penalizing the user experience.
The unit we are testing arrives with 256 GB of storage, that means it uses. UFS 4.0 technologytechnology, while the 128 GB version does so with UFS 3.1 making it slightly less efficient than the higher capacity version.
This difference is important since read and write speed is one of the improvements implied by the change in memory standard, as can be well appreciated in the table of read and write speed results.
| OnePlus 11 5G | OnePlus 10T 5G | Motorola Edge 30 Ultra | Xiaomi 12T Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sequential Write | 975.15 MB/s | 628.90 MB/s | 623.98 MB/s | 602 MB/s |
| Sequential read | 1.08 GB/s | 1.07 GB/s | 1.49 GB/s | 1.4 GB/s |
| Random write | 42.01 MB/s | 34.71 MB/s | 39.40 MB/s | 29.54 MB/s |
| Random read | 14.34 MB/s | 22.29 MB/s | 27.64 MB/s | 20.73 MB/s |
| Memory copy speed | 15.07 GB/s | 14.26 GB/s | 17.24 GB/s | 12.34 GB/s |
The new generation arrives powered by a OxigenOS 13 operating system. running on Android 13, so both the security layer and the system itself are updated to the latest possible version.
OnePlus promises 4 major updates in which the operating system version will be changed, and 5 years of security updates. Something with which if it complies, it will be positioned among those that offer the best update process.
We find the usual OxigenOS features while keeping the similarity of the graphical style of the interface with Oppo’s ColorOS.but it shows the new customization options of Android 13 and adds its own features like the Shelf panel which is displayed by swiping down from the home screen to show a series of Widgets and information for the user.
The link between OxigenOS and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leaves a very smooth user experience, where everything runs immediately and without jerks when switching between applications, even when it comes to retrieving games that have moved to the background the behavior has been very solid.
In terms of security, the OnePlus 11 5G has two biometric unlocking systems. On the one hand the software facial recognition works well, but it is very conditioned to the light and tends to fail at night or in environments where the face is not well lit.
On the other hand, the under-screen fingerprint sensor offers a quick response and is positioned at a perfect height so that, with just a flick of the thumb, it recognizes the fingerprint immediately on either hand.
Camera
From the OnePlus’ first cell phonephotographic performance has been an unfinished business. With the generation of the OnePlus 9, an agreement was signed with Hasselblad for the Swedish camera company to fine-tune the colorimetry of the OnePlus cameras and thus improve the quality.
The OnePlus 11 5G recovers that spirit that seemed to be diluted in the OnePlus 10 Pro, and bets on the new Sony IMX sensors that come to replace our beloved IMX766, which have given us such good results. Spoiler: its performance has pleased us very much.
The Camera app remains exactly the same as in previous versions, with that Hasselblad touch in the orange color of the shutter button and its characteristic shutter sound when shooting.
| Cameras | Aperture and Stabilization | |
|---|---|---|
| Rear | Main: Sony IMX890 of 50 Mpx 1/1.56″ sensor Pixel size of 1 μm Focal equivalent to 24 mm | f/1.8 (6-piece lens) OIS + EIS |
| Rear | Ultra wide-angle: 48 Mpx Sony IMX581 1/2″ sensor 115º field of view” Focal equivalent to 48 mm | f/2.2 (6-piece lens) |
| Rear | Telephoto: Sony IMX709 of 32 Mpx 1/2.74″ sensor Focal equivalent to 65 mm | f/2.0 |
| Front | Sony IMX471 16 Mpx Pixel size of 1.0 μm” Focal equivalent to 25 mm | f/2.45 (5-piece lens) | EIS | fixed focus |
The main camera has a Sony IMX890 sensor of 50 Mpx. with a size of 1/1.56″. That is, on paper it’s the same specs as the IMX 766 already mounted on the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, but its combination with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 ISP has left us with some good quality and effortless photos.
In the daytime and in good light the mobile takes good photos even throwing it in the air. Accurate focus thanks to the optical stabilization system, good sharpness and the hand of Hasselblad that leaves vivid colors, but without saturating too much.
The 48 Mpx wide angle also improves with respect to the one mounted on the OnePlus 10 Pro, but a drop in sharpness is noticed with respect to the main camera, and progressively declines as it moves away from the center of the photo. This camera also does not correct the vertical lines, so the vertical lines tend to fall towards the center.
Both cameras maintain very similar color adjustment, so the camera change could pass for cropping, were it not for the fact that the main camera offers far superior quality.
The 32 Mpx telephoto has been adjusted by Hasselblad to leave a look similar to the photos obtained by their cameras with the 65 mm lens, with a very organic background bokeh and special attention for the treatment of the skins.
We could not be more satisfied with the results. The portraits are excellent. However, the color adjustment does not match those of the other two cameras. Also, beyond its use in portraits, it is not a zoom that performs brilliantly in other types of photography. It delivers, but that 2X is very unambitious for a high-end phone.
The combination of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 ISP and a new, more optimized sensing device means that nighttime photography is much better. As you can imagine, the best performance is obtained with the main camera, although the overall quality does not drop as much as in the previous generation.
The OnePlus 11 5G is not about turning night into day. and focuses on getting more sharpness in illuminated areas and letting the night sky keep its natural black color.
As we have already mentioned, portraits with the main camera leave very good results. But, How does the front camera perform? Obviously, the results are not as polished, optically speaking, as the rear cameras. The cropping is somewhat more aggressive and you notice a more processed image with a more forced HDR.
Even so, are selfies that we consider to be of good qualityThe quality of these selfies is good, with a good treatment of skins and, although he sometimes makes mistakes when cropping glasses or ears, he is usually quite accurate.
Hasselblad has included some custom photographic filters, and a Xpan shooting mode in a nod to the ultra-panoramic film shooting mode of their cameras. It is a curiosity, but it gives a lot of play at the level of creativity.
In the video section there are two features to highlight. On the one hand the support for video with 8K resolution at 24 fps and on the other hand, the good performance of the optical stabilization when recording with the main camera.
In 4K resolutions the stabilization does a good job, but the best results are obtained in Full HD. In terms of quality, I get the feeling that it abuses the focus filter, leaving some forced edges.
The color can be a bit flat, which can be a negative if you’re not going to edit the video, but it allows for a greater margin of adjustment if edited, allowing you to give more depth to the shadows.
Battery
OnePlus repeats the battery combination that gave it such good results in the OnePlus 10 Pro, but improves the performance of the fast charge. It is a 5,000 mAh battery that allows it to handle a full day of use without major problems, and ups the ante with a 100W fast charge that comes to the rescue when you need extra power in a matter of minutes.
In intermediate use, and after a week of use in which the smartphone learned our usage patterns, the OnePlus 11 5G managed to deliver an average of 7 hours of screen use while maintaining 2K resolution and automatic brightness.
The performance of the fast charge has improved significantly compared to the previous generation, going from the 80W of the OnePlus 10 Pro to the 100W provided by the charger included in the box. Of course, the OnePlus 11 5G does without wireless charging.
What has improved is the charge management, where artificial intelligence is used to activate the maximum charging power or a more conservative profile, depending on the user’s habits, in order to take care of the battery’s health. In our tests, we charged 50% of the battery in 9 minutes and 100% in 24 minutes.
OnePlus 11 5G versions
The OnePlus 11 5G comes in two versions with different storage and RAM configurations, but keeping the other features, and a design which comes with two surfaces: Titan Black and the special edition Eternal Green, which is sold exclusively on Amazon and comes only with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.
Veredict – Is it worth buying the OnePlus 11 5G?
OnePlus has responded to the drift that was the arrival of a OnePlus 10 Pro that tasted little to us by offering a very improved performance. The arrival of the OnePlus 11 5G puts the brand back in the high-end pugnacity with a balanced performance.
The choice of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has been decisive in the good performance of the terminal and a user experience worthy of a 900 euro smartphone. Both the processor and the operating system run smoothly.
The OnePlus 11 5G offers a very well-balanced equipment that is perfectly in line in each of the sections it covers. It stands out for its good performance in photography and for its abundance of power thanks to its processor.
In the field of photography, OnePlus took a step up (again thanks to the good work of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 ISP), leaving photos that are better than those of the previous generation, but do not reach the excellence of high-end premium phones like the iPhone 14 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S23, to name but a couple.
Overall, OnePlus delivers high-end experience for its money. If you’re looking for a smartphone in this price range, it has no insurmountable bugs and offers very stable performance.
